Ignore Me Not

It’s a fact:
We all role-play our way through life
Taking on different characters as needed to make a point
With rarely the same objective
In all circumstances.
One of my teachers was such a lovely person
Until someone angered her
Then she would lash out with the fury
Of a cornered ocelot—
I sometimes do the same.

Some of us are so unpredictable that
We need to approach them with care
In order to determine who or what
Mask they are wearing in the moment.
It isn’t my cup of tea
But on occasion I take on the
Characteristics of a grotesque
Bad-ass
Not because that is who I am
But from the ugly point of view
That I am far from perfect and
I need to be taken seriously;
I learned from the best and
I can kick ass with the rest.

Never underestimate my fury
I can become the ogre that
You provoke.
I dislike it in others
Even more in myself.
It is my flaw and I must
Live with the consequences.

Under my many masks
Is a kindly old man
Who cannot live with indifference;
I’m a sucker for kindness
For caring
And for a little love.

And so, love me or hate me
But do not ignore me.
Indifference
Brings out the
Beast in me.